The ACLU sued Arkansas last year after it passed a law prohibiting brutal dismemberment abortions in which nearly fully-formed unborn babies are torn apart while their hearts are beating. The case is before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In their brief, the state attorneys general supported the ACLU lawsuit, claiming the law creates a “substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion.” They also claim dismemberment abortions are the safest type of abortion for women in the second trimester.

Their brief also argues against Arkansas laws that prohibit sex-selection abortions, require additional reports to the state about abortions involving girls under 16, and require that aborted babies’ bodies be disposed of with the same respect as other deceased human beings, according to the report.

The ACLU claims the pro-life laws are unconstitutional because they make it more difficult for women to abort their unborn babies.

A dismemberment abortion typically is performed on a nearly fully-formed, living unborn baby in the second trimester. It is a barbaric and dangerous procedure in which the unborn child is ripped apart in the womb and pulled out in pieces.

According to the Arkansas Department of Health, 683 of the 3,771 abortions performed in 2015 were D&E abortions, which typically involve dismembering the unborn child.

The dismemberment abortion ban embodies model legislation from the National Right to Life Committee that would prohibit “dismemberment abortion,” using forceps, clamps, scissors or similar instruments on a living unborn baby to remove him or her from the womb in pieces. Such instruments are used in dilation and evacuation procedures.

Dismemberment abortion bans also have been voted into law in Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Mississippi and West Virginia have their laws in effect, while the other states are battling legal challenges.